Lando Norris would ‘rather die pushing’ after costly Baku F1 qualifying error
Lando Norris says he “paid the price” for a late error on Q3 in Azerbaijan qualifying
McLaren’s Lando Norris says he would “rather die trying to get pole than just settle” after a late error in Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix qualifying cost him a front row.
The British driver was glum about his prospects following Thursday’s practice sessions, when he was 1.5s off the pace in the upgraded McLaren.
The team appeared to transform its car for qualifying on Friday, however, with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri emerging as front-row contenders.
But reigning world champion Norris’ hopes were dashed when he made a mistake at Turn 3 on his final flying lap, forcing him down the escape road.
This left him fifth on the grid, with Piastri third behind Charles Leclerc and polesitter George Russell.
Podium challenge “impossible” for Norris
Norris says he’d rather have made a mistake trying to push for something better than settle, but also acknowledged that his car was “a long, long way off” even that of Piastri’s.
“I mean, it was working well, to be honest,” he said.
“Oscar was P3. I think P2 was possible. I felt confident in the car, to be honest with you; I just pushed the braking a bit too much.
“I’d rather die trying to get a pole than just settle for a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, whatever it is.
“That’s just how it is. I want to put together a perfect lap, not just an average lap.
“I paid the price for that. Otherwise, the car’s not been bad; we’re just a long, long way off, especially my car is just a long way off on the straights.
“That’s obviously limiting because there are a lot of straights here. It’s painful, but there’s nothing I can do.”
He added: “Honestly, I feel like I’ve been driving really well this weekend, just some problems we have in the car that just limits my lap time a little bit.
“Hopefully we can fix them. We’re probably not going to fix them tomorrow, which means we’re in for a tough race.
“But, we’ve got some things we need to fix on the car because I’m just at a deficit to the other car at the minute.”
Asked if he had any hope of a podium on Saturday, Norris replied: “Of course, I hope for a podium, but with my straightline speed it will be impossible.”
